Knife for a pouch machine and method of using same

Abstract

An adjustable knife for a pouch machine is selectively provided with changeable knife hub sets each including a major and minor knife hub with respective major and minor axes. The hub sets have respectively differing diameters or different spacing between the respective major and minor axes to handle a variety of pouch sizes where a filler wheel alternately first fills and seals pouches in a train. A gear linkage including a four gear anti-lash arrangement with a movable gear accommodates variation in distance between hubs of different sets. A method of using the knife is also described.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A knife for cutting filled and sealed pouches from a web train of filled and sealed pouches, and including at least two knife hub sets each knife hub set including a major and a minor knife hub, respectively mountable on respective major and minor hub drive axes, and a four gear drive train having four gears, including a movable gear accommodating changes in the distance between said hub drive axes when one hub set is changed for another. 
     
     
       2. A knife as in  claim 1  wherein at least one of the four gears of the four gear drive train is selectively removable from engagement with a gear driving one of said hubs to accommodate change in the distance between said hub drive axes and is re-engagable to provide an effective drive train upon changing of said hub set. 
     
     
       3. A knife as in  claim 1  including radially adjustable package guides on one of said hubs, said package guides mounted on respective reciprocable arms having a beveled gear mounted on each of said arms, and a ring gear mounted for rotational adjustment, said ring gear meshing with said beveled gears for turning said beveled gears to adjust the radial extension of the package guides by reciprocating the arms responsive to rotation of said ring gear and said beveled gears. 
     
     
       4. A method of cutting transversely sealed pouches from respective pouch trains along transversely spaced seals partially defining said pouches and wherein the distance of spacing between said transversely spaced seals in respective pouch trains varies, the method including the steps of:
 driving major and minor knife hubs respectively disposed on major and minor axes at least one selectively movable with respect to the other, to cut along transversely spaced seals of pouches of one train between said hubs; 
 driving one of said hubs through a gear linkage, having a plurality of gears with another of said hubs; 
 changing said hubs to accommodate cutting pouches from pouch trains having different transversely spaced seal spacing; and 
 during said changing, disengaging at least one of said gears from said gear linkage and re-engaging said one gear in said gear linkage after changing said hubs to accommodate a variation of distance between said major and minor axes. 
 
     
     
       5. A method as in  claim 4  further including the steps of engaging transversely spaced seals in a pouch train on package guides mounted on radially extendible package guide supports driven by pinion gears and selectively rotating a drive ring engaging said pinion gears to radially extend and retract said package guides for handling respective pouch trains having transversely spaced seals at different spacing.